Horsemen Get Unused Border Crossing Opened

CHESAW, Okanogan County - An abandoned border crossing between Washington state and British Columbia will be opened today for a group of Canadian horsemen and women, the first time the United States has approved its use since 1945.

The Myncaster crossing will open at noon for horse-and-wagon teams entering Washington from British Columbia, said Russell Manchester, a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman in Spokane.

The occasion is a draft-horse competition tomorrow between the South Boundary Draft Horse Club of Rock Creek, B.C., and the Highland Harness Horse Club of Chesaw.

The two towns are 10 miles apart, separated by an international border. To get to the nearest designated crossing, the group would have had to travel 60 extra miles.

The INS initially denied the club's request to cross at Myncaster but later reconsidered, Manchester said. Such a crossing hadn't been allowed before, and he said INS didn't have any policy guidelines.

But the spirit of fair play took precedence in the end, Manchester said.

``The best reason we could think of is it would be unfair competition otherwise, with tired Canadian horses competing against well-rested American ones,'' he said.

The Myncaster crossing was opened by Canadian authorities May 14 to allow the Chesaw team to participate in a draft-horse competition in Rock Creek. The Americans were welcomed by Canadian officials.

But U.S. Immigration officials started fussing when the Americans came home by the same route, said Chesaw competitor Mary Lyn Eagle.

U.S. officials told the Chesaw residents their re-entry was illegal, she said.